Red River Métis soprano and Fulbright Scholar Camryn Dewar, M.Mus. is a champion of vocal versatility with a particular passion for new opera, contemporary music and bringing new characters to life. Currently based in Stony Mountain, Manitoba, Camryn performs across opera, art song, concert, musical theatre and jazz. She champions new music and the work of Indigenous and living composers, bringing curiosity, versatility and a strong sense of storytelling to everything she performs.

Her career has taken her to stages across Canada, the United States and Europe, including Carnegie Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Whether performing a new opera, interpreting an art song or collaborating on a work still in development, Camryn is drawn to music that tells compelling human stories.

“I love performing new opera because you have the opportunity to discover a character while the work itself is still taking shape,” she says. “I love exploring her motivations, her strength and vulnerability, and the arc of her story.”

Indigenous Voices in Opera

As a Fulbright Scholar, Camryn has brought her work as a singer together with her research into the evolving representation of Indigenous women in Canadian opera. Her research led to the creation of a lecture-recital exploring nearly 150 years of Indigenous women on the Canadian opera stage—from early portrayals shaped by romanticism and stereotypes to contemporary works increasingly created and performed by Indigenous artists.

She has presented the lecture-recital at McGill University, the University of Calgary, Canada Mennonite University, Brandon University and the University of Manitoba, with upcoming engagements including the Canadian Opera Company on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, New Brunswick Symphony and the University of British Columbia.

“As Indigenous artists become part of telling our own stories, in our own voices, we’re finally seeing more whole and honest depictions of who we really are.”

— Camryn Dewar

On Stage

Camryn is especially grateful for the opportunities she has had to help bring new operas and contemporary works to life.

Recent highlights include performing in the social justice opera Blind Injustice by composer Scott Davenport Richards and librettist David Cote at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and The Grapes of Wrath with MasterVoices at Carnegie Hall. At Carnegie Hall, Camryn also served as Assistant to Tony Award-winning conductor and Music Director Ted Sperling.

With Manitoba Opera, she performed the role of Josette LaGrande during the development of Li Keur: Riel’s Heart of the North, the Métis-led opera by Suzanne M. Steele, Alex Kusturok and Neil Weisensel. She has also performed Living Music at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

In 2026, Camryn continued her international training as an Artist Fellow with Opera Lucca in Italy and BRIDGES Vocal Arts in Paris, performing scenes as Musetta in La Bohème, Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. She has also expanded her work in musical theatre through intensive training and mentorship in New York with Broadway performer Christian Sebek.

Beyond the Stage

Camryn is a multi-instrumentalist who plays piano, saxophone, clarinet and guitar—and her dad is teaching her the bagpipe chanter. She is also a six-time Royal Conservatory of Music Gold Medal winner for the highest voice mark in Manitoba.

She is a former Air Cadet with 301 Alan McLeod Squadron, where she played in both the marching and performance bands and later returned as a mentor and workshop leader. She is also a CASI-certified ski and snowboard instructor and has served as Head Ski Instructor at Stony Mountain Ski Area.

Camryn has trained in Métis jigging, jazz, tap, Highland and ballroom dance. She has sung in French-Michif, Heritage-Michif and Anishinaabemowin, in addition to Italian, French and German.

In 2026, she received the Lifesaving Society Rescue Award of Merit after rescuing a toddler from the water at Anicinabe Park.

Her other skills include stage combat, voice acting, improv, slam poetry and boxing.

And when she isn’t performing or travelling, summers usually find her fishing and camping with her family on Lake of the Woods at Anicinabe Park.